Game #139: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies

I don't know why people have been saying this game's not as good as the others. I really liked it. Had a really good story, music was fantastic and new 3D artstyle was pretty good looking as well. Not as the same level as AA1, T&T, AAI2 but still better than JFA.

8/10

"No one can escape their past. The sins we've committed and the sadness we've caused...No matter how far we run, our past remains, as ever-present as the moon in the sky. It looms in wait...for the day when we are forced to face it. But only in doing so can we truly make peace and move on in hope towards tomorrow."

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies is the 5th game in the mainline Ace Attorney series which came out 6 years after Apollo Justice and it has the unfortunate task of being both a big return to form for the series as well as a follow-up to Apollo Justice and while I enjoyed the game a lot and think it gets too much hate, I do think it also spreads itself too thin and because of that some plot threads feel much less developed and certain characters don't get enough screen time.

Dual Destinies takes place roughly a year after the events of Apollo Justice. The legal system has entered an era known as "the Dark Age of the Law" where lawyers and prosecutors are more concerned with winning than finding the truth and to do so they'll take any means necessary, even fabricating evidence and falsifying charges and due to this the public has lost faith in the courts. The legendary Phoenix Wright, his protege Apollo Justice and their newly appointed junior Athena Cykes who's an expert in the field of analytical psychology all work with the goal of building up the public's confidence back in the courts while defending their clients and looking for the truth. To accomplish this they'll have to go up against the master of psychological manipulation Simon Blackquill, a convicted death row inmate with a penchant for Japanese culture and history who is also a practicing prosecutor.

I mentioned earlier that the game spreads itself too thin, but I think Simon and Athena truly steal the show as this feels like their game with most of the overarching narrative revolving around them, I just wish Athena would've gotten a bigger lead role since this is basically her game and she mostly only acts as the partner/supporting role while Phoenix or Apollo are the lead role despite not actually getting much focus on their overall stories. Phoenix acts mostly as a mentor figure to the two and it works well for his character, but Apollo only gets a couple moments to truly shine in the game which is weird considering the game is part of "The Apollo Justice trilogy". Once again why I say there were just too many ideas at once and some didn't get fleshed out as well as they could've.

The gameplay is mostly the same from previous Ace Attorney games, but now in full 3D and a bit more streamlined making it easier and less cryptic, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on who you ask. There's also the addition of a new mechanic in Athena's Mood Matrix which allows players to look for inconsistencies in emotions and adds more variety to court sessions besides your standard cross examining and it also fits the psychological theme and is the perfect foil for Blackquill's own psychological manipulation. I will say, the biggest disappointment in the gameplay is not being able to inspect and examine everything around you like in all the previous Ace Attorney games. A huge part of the personality and charm of Ace Attorney is doing just that and witnessing the banter between characters like with Phoenix and Maya in the OG trilogy or Apollo and Trucy in Apollo Justice. I think cutting down the amount of those interactions means some of the newer characters didn't get as much depth to their personality as they could've as well.

While I have some complaints with Dual Destinies and it's not a perfect game nor the best in the series, I also think it gets far too much hate and thanks to the addition of new gameplay mechanics which kept the gameplay fresh from past entries and the compelling overcharging narrative and mystery between Simon Blackquill and Athena Cykes, the two new characters who have become personal favorites, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Dual Destinies and that just makes it another strong entry in the longest running and most consistent visual novel franchise around.

THE DARK AGE OF THE LAW

yah idk the game kind of jumps the shark, like this game is so far removed from the initial premise of legal proceedings and murder mysteries that the first game at least establishes the veneer of lol.

if you can appreciate the game for what it is as the wright anything agency's wacky j-drama adventures rather than a more meaningful sequel to apollo justice and the games which came before it, its a great time. but the way characters are written is kind of ridiculous and off-putting as a canonical entry in a multi-decade series, and the cases (PARTICULARLY THE PHANTOM GOOD GOD) are just so far removed from any semblance of gripping character drama or gritty mystery or anything to that effect

i enjoyed the game for what it is, i just hope this is not the direction capcom takes for the inevitable ace attorney 7

Unironically one of the most boring games I have ever played. Far worse than every preceding ace attorney game out there. Awful writing that's simply just edgy for edginess sake. Characters are completely "anime-ified" with garbage dialogue, expressions, and motivations. Ace Attorney, being a japanese game always had a sort of "Anime" element to it which made it charming. It was over the top, goofy, and fun. It wasn't too much to the point of being cringe, but DD went over the edge. They largely removed the "examine" feature in most areas, removing any quirky fun banter and comments from the cast.
Case 5-1 was bad.
Case 5-2 is quite possibly the worst case in the series (worse than 1-3/2-3/3-3.
Case 5-3 is garbage with an incredibly annoying cast.
Case 5-4 was actually decent until the ending which was less decent
Case 5-5 is also just ok.
I haven't played the DLC case and have little motivation to do so. DD is one of the most boring games I have ever played the continuously made me frustrated beyond belief. I slogged through this for months whilst reading the wiki side by side cause it was too aggravating to pay attention to the game. Such a disservice to an amazing trilogy and solid 4th game.

note: I played the Nintendo Switch version of this game on the trilogy collection, though I am logging it as this since I am exclusively talking about this second title

If you want to hear my opinions on the previous Ace Attorney games up until this point, I have reviews from the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney up until Apollo Justice. As these games tend to be pretty similar in terms of their mechanics and ideas, I don’t feel the need to repeat myself every time- especially given I have yet to reach a point where I feel negatively towards these wonderful games.

With that being said, I am just going to outline my thoughts on the game rather than weave them into a more essay-esque review. The TLDR is that I thought this game was fantastic, but if you want to know why..

- Once again, the main cast is outstanding and so much fun. Seeing Phoenix return to his Attorney position after his role in Apollo Justice was so exciting. As much as I love the guy, I truthfully didn’t need him to be playable again since I thought it was an interesting idea to have him step down, but I can’t deny the fun of him being back. Apollo was also a blast this time, too. I think they chose some bold and interesting choices for his character following the previous game, but all of the decisions made here either provided with more of what I loved from before or a new opportunity to see him grow. Athena was, at first, a little bit of a letdown conceptually since I felt she might take away focus from Phoenix and Apollo- the duo I really wanted to see bounce off each other- but it didn’t take long for me to really welcome her with arms open. I loved her personality and thought she was a ton of fun, and just added to the game by providing more fun dynamics and interactions. Love her.
- With the exception of the DLC case which shafts Apollo to the side, I thought they balanced the trio here phenomenally. Everyone gets their chance to shine, and it feels distributed very equally. It’s weird the game is subtitled Dual Destinies when it is clearly a trio, but at the very least the game itself does the three of them justice (no pun intended).
- The new side characters here were also excellent and a ton of fun. Simon is one of my favorite prosecutors in the entire series thus far, as his background, story, design, and personality were all incredibly unique and executed wonderfully. Detective Fulbright was goofy as hell and I thought he was just a silly dude to hang around with. I really loved each defendant, and all the antagonists were deliciously satisfying to bring down too.
- Bringing back returning characters is a cheap but effective move, and it worked here pretty well for me I must admit. Seeing Pearl, Edgeworth, and Klavier again made me incredibly happy since I love them all. My main complaint is that they are all very sparingly used, and not in a way that feels respectful of the new characters spotlights but instead as if they weren’t really intended to be in the game but were added for familiar faces. It works, and I really loved seeing Pearl again especially, but I could smell a bit of cynicism in their appearances despite eating it up. What I will say, however, is that they really give Trucy the short end of the stick here and it was very sad to see. With the exception of the last case in which she is given the role of hostage- meaning taken away from you- she gets next to no screen time despite being a vital character in Apollo Justice and just one of my personal favorites in the series. She feels like a huge afterthought and I am thoroughly disappointed by how little we get of her.
- I thought it was very interesting how the cases were presented out of chronological order here. Trials and Tribulations has cases in a non-chronological order, but in the sense that some are flashbacks from years ago. This time, they’re out of order in the sense you get some teases of what happens later in this story, and watch the events unfold before and then afterwards. I found that to be a really fun and fresh idea for this series and really highlighted some of the mysteries presented here.
- The cases themselves were great here. I think that it could be argued that some go on a little too long, and that most don’t quite reach the very top of the tier list- but for what they are, they are all a lot of fun, satisfying to unravel and experience, and and provide some really unique scenarios like a murder that follows a script, bombing incidents, or in the DLC cases case- defending an animal. Tons of fun all around.
- The presentation of this game is incredible. I was iffy on the idea of 3D models given how expressive the sprites of the past have been, but they clearly poured their hearts and souls into how this game looked. I was viewing the concept art and it’s insane to me how perfectly they translated the character designs and poses into 3D. It truly does feel like an evolution of the presentation of Ace Attorney, as it allowed for some outstanding animations during breakdowns and other events. The backgrounds are all animated in some noticeable and subtle ways, which is really neat, and allows for dynamic cameras in many instances that both boost presentation and gameplay by being able to, for example, rotate a crime scene and find new evidence. The nuances in the character animation gets a special shout out from me, too. Top that all off with one of my favorite soundtracks in the series thus far (which is a high bar to reach), and I think they nailed it from this angle.

And that about wraps my feelings here up. I don’t really have anything else negative to say, it is just an incredibly fun and solid time here. I think AA1 and especially Trials and Tribulations are untouchable in terms of a series ranking, but I would absolutely put this game in regards as high as something like Justice for All and Apollo Justice. I’m five games into this series and I have loved every second of it. I am surprised by how many dislike this game, but none of that matters because I certainly did. Great time here.